Mar 31, 2013

Vietnam - Trade deficit returns on lift in domestic import demand

Imports exceeded exports in March by 300 million USD, marking the return
of the trade deficit after the country experienced a trade surplus in the first
two months of this year and in 2012.

The country exported 11 billion
USD worth of goods in March and imported 11.3 billion USD in the same period,
according to the General Statistics Office (GSO).

Head of the GSO’s trade
department Le Thi Minh Thuy attributed the trade deficit to the increased
import demands of domestic businesses, while the export value of some key
products had declined.

However, she said the trade
balance in the first three months remains positive with exports exceeding
imports, at 29.6 billion USD and 29.2 billion USD, respectively.

Most of the trade surplus in the
first three months came from the foreign-invested sector, with export value at
19.2 billion USD and import value reaching 16.1 billion USD, up 25.6 percent
and 25.5 percent.

Exports during the first three
months of this year mainly consisted of electrical products and components
which reached 7.2 billion USD, of which mobile phones accounted for 4.5 billion
USD.

The GSO said some key products
posted falls in export value during the period, including seafood (1.26 billion
USD, down 2.3 percent), coffee (1.92 billion USD, down 1.5 percent) and rubber
(522 million USD, down 16.7 percent).

The country posted an annual
trade surplus in 2012 for the first time in two decades after three years of
narrowing deficits, as the slowest economic growth in 13 years curbed import
demand.

VNA

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